Line #123 Main/InterchangeableAntimatterKeys


1	[[quoteright:293:[[Webcomic/AwkwardZombie https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/link-key.jpg]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:293:[[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda "You'd think that after seven dungeons, you'd have figured out how to open a lock without breaking the key."]]]]
3
4	->''"You're kidding me. I gotta use ''another key?'' What, does the door EAT the key or something?!"''
5	-->-- '''WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd''' plays ''[[VideoGame/TheAddamsFamily Fester's Quest]]''
6
7	In RealLife, a lock is a device for making sure an unauthorized person can't get through a specific door. There's generally anywhere from one to four keys made to fit a specific lock, and these keys usually won't fit in any other lock (unless the key happens to be a master key). The lock can be opened and closed over and over again.
8
9	In many games, however, any key will fit in any door. Sometimes keys will only work in the dungeon you find them in, but still, within each dungeon every key will fit every door.
10
11	Naturally, this would make opening all the {{Locked Door}}s very easy, except for one strange fact: whenever you use a key to open a door, the key, the lock, and sometimes even the entire door will disappear, right before your eyes -- as if the key was made from antimatter. This makes locks almost useless for their real world purpose, which may explain why you only end up finding {{Locked Door}}s in dark forgotten dungeons beneath the earth and not on the [[KleptomaniacHero doors to people's houses]].
12
13	In a few games, the structure of dungeons may make it so that the interchangeable aspect doesn't ever come up; whenever you get a key, there's only one locked door you can ever reach, and the next key is behind that door. Still, rest assured that if you [[VideoGame/GameShark cheated up some more keys]], or else [[SequenceBreaking got past a door without using a key]], you'd find the game treats them as interchangeable.
14
15	Compare SkeletonKey.
16	----
17	!!Examples:
18
19	[[foldercontrol]]
20
21	[[folder:Straight Examples]]
22	%%* ''VideoGame/Alundra2'' has these. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
23	* ''VideoGame/AlwasAwakening'' features several gates around Alwa that you can unlock with any single-use key you can find. Some of these locks have secret bypasses you can use to save your keys for a shortcut in the final dungeon.
24	* ''VideoGame/ANNOMutationem'': Any [[CoolKey Advanced Cryptokey]] collected throughout main areas and then used to open secured [[InexplicableTreasureChests containers]] are immediately discarded after being used.
25	* In ''VideoGame/AnotherPerspective'', any key will open any locked door, and the key will promptly disappear afterwards.
26	* The ''VideoGame/AtelierSeries'' often uses color-coded chests that require keys, with the [[ColorCodedItemTiers rarest chest type]] needing a key you'll only have access to near the end of the game. Using the key will cause it to vanish, but once you have the key's recipe, you can alchemize as many as needed.
27	* In ''VideoGame/BabaIsYou'', something that is "Open" occupying the same square as something that is "Shut" will cause both things to vanish with a loud ''crack''. You'd think that "Open" would be the key-analogue and "Shut" would be the door-analogue, but in practice, the rules are functionally identical, a quirk that a handful of puzzles require you to work with.
28	%%* These appear in the "Nightmare" mode of ''VideoGame/BackToBed''. Subob needs to ensure that Bob's path will overlap with all of the keys lying around on the level, so that the door to his bedroom will be unlocked at the end. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
29	* In ''VideoGame/BetrayalAtKrondor'', the description of the standard key says that it's made for a cheap, low-end lock, "probably manufactured by the hundreds", and "likely to snap". Keys (and lockpicks) have a chance to break and disappear when using them, though they don't vanish every time. More important locks have unique keys, which being less cheaply made are fully reusable.
30	* ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'':
31	** In the first game, a key can open any locked door or golden chest. After using, it disappears.
32	** ''Wrath of the Lamb'' adds special Golden Keys, shaped like skulls, which can open an unlimited number of doors and chests... but for that floor only. You lose it once you go to the next floor down.
33	** You can also pick up the Paper Clip, a trinket that opens locked chests without consuming keys.
34	** Dad's Key is an unlockable, rechargeable item that, when used, will open ''any'' closed door in the room it's used in. No matter what kind of door this may be. This even includes the Giant Golden Door that leads to Mega Satan, which otherwise needs a very specific key that must be found in two parts to open.
35	** The Red Key is a rechargeable item[[note]]the Cracked Key its its single-use equivalent[[/note]] that opens up doors that ''don't even exist'' and open into "red rooms" (if within the 13x13 grid of each floor) or the I AM ERROR room (if outside that grid). Notably, this is how you unlock the Tainted versions of the characters.
36	* In ''VideoGame/BioMenace'', there are locked closets, each of which opens with any single-use key.
37	* In ''VideoGame/{{Boktai}}'', most dungeons have a square key for the square key door, a circle key for the circle key door, etc., but [[NinjaButterfly Otenko]] notes when you first pick one up that the keys were made by an [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Immortal]] and will evaporate if you take them to another dungeon.
38	%%* ''VideoGame/{{Bugdom}}'', although the cheat codes are so ludicrously simple (Shift+Tilde+F1-F9) that it's really not that hard to just cheat your way into a complete set. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
39	* In the PuzzlePlatformer ''VideoGame/{{Castlequest}}'', a lot of the strategy is finding various colored keys and not wasting them on the wrong doors.
40	%%* ''VideoGame/ClarencesBigChance'': One of the few tropes the game doesn't lampshade. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
41	* ''VideoGame/CyberChaser'': You get to use all keys that have been picked up after a level. Each opened box gets rid of a few keys, but they can be used on all boxes.
42	* ''VideoGame/DeusEx'':
43	** Locked doors and keypads can be bypassed respectively using a certain number of single-use lockpicks and multitools, with appropriate skills increasing how much the lock strength weakens with each use. Interestingly, this means even a master locksmith still expends limited resources even on the simplest lock.
44	** Even though traditional-looking lockpicks still exist, ''keys'' themselves are apparently obsolete and completely phased out by the time (2052) the game takes place. Instead you have a [[{{Nanomachines}} Nano]] key-ring that automatically forges the appropriate key, and the keys you find are nanite codes telling your keyring what key shape they need to form.
45	** ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' has the single-use Automated Unlocking Tools, which unlock any system, be it a security station or a keypad lock. There are also "Stop!" and "Nuke!" viruses on ''floppy disks'' which can be used on any system and cannot be reused.
46	* In ''VideoGame/DiabloII'':
47	** All keys in the game are identical and can be used to open any locked chest in the game. Yes, they disappear afterwards. The only exceptions are the special keys that are sometimes dropped by the Countess, the Summoner and Nihlathak on Hell difficulty. They don't open anything, at least not in the conventional way.
48	** A common feature of [[GameMod mods]] for ''Diablo II'' were some manner of gambling-related chests containing magical items. Usually the keys were not just interchangeable but didn't even open the box at all -- they had to be transmuted together in the Horadric Cube (although this was generally for technical reasons; ''Diablo II'' didn't have any code that allowed for a container item in the traditional sense).
49	* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'':
50	** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestI'' has one-use keys, though later games in the series allow single keys to open multiple doors (and they are magic, which explains one key fitting every door in the world). If you visit Rimuldar after beating the game, the magic key-maker announces he will devote the rest of his life to make keys which will not break after one use.
51	** In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'', the prequel to the first game, you take ''your'' magic key, which can be used infinitely but ''doesn't'' open every door in the game (you need the Final Key for that), and show it to the guy who, by ''VideoGame/DragonQuestI'', is selling magic keys. Presumably, he copies it, but makes them one-time use ''and'' capable of opening any door in the world. In other words, his copy attempt ''failed completely''. [[FridgeBrilliance Unless of course, he deliberately made them one-time use keys, so that people would have to keep going back to him to buy more.]]
52	* ''VideoGame/{{Dubloon}}'' features keys that disappear from your inventory when you drag them into locks, represented as flat blocks with keyholes in them.
53	* ''VideoGame/DustAnElysianTail'' has chests and cages (housing characters from other indie games) that are locked with keys that are scattered throughout the game world, and any one of them will open any one lock (with cages having four locks each), only to vanish on use. The keys and locks are supposedly magical, though, which might explain the mechanic.
54	* In ''VideoGame/{{Dustforce}}'', a single-use key will work on any appropriate door of that type.
55	* In ''VideoGame/EightBitKiller'', interacting with a LockedDoor with a key in your inventory unlocks the door and instantly removes the key. The interchangeability of keys comes into play in stage 2-2, where using the key you find on the wrong door[[labelnote:(hint)]]It's not the first one you see when you enter the entrance hall.[[/labelnote]] will lead you to the exit but also lock you out of an assault rifle.[[note]]Next to this assault rifle is another key, so no worries.[[/note]]
56	* ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy'' : The [[VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy4 fourth]] and [[VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy5 fifth]] games feature single-use keys (4 types in [=EBF4=], 6 types in [=EBF5=]) which are used to remove blocks. In [=EBF4=], the keys open access to chests, open up shortcuts or sometimes open up new areas of the map, whilst in [=EBF5=], they are exclusively used to access treasure.
57	* In ''VideoGame/EyeOfTheBeholder'', each level has multiple keys and each can be used interchangeably on most of the level's locks. Since some locked doors eventually connect to the same area it pays to only unlock doors when you need to (thereby saving the trouble of looking for additional keys). Furthermore, examining a lock afterwards will reveal that it was jammed, justifying the key being destroyed (it got stuck inside the lock).
58	* In ''VideoGame/FableI'', any silver key can be used in any silver chest and is used up when the chest is opened, but chests require multiple keys. It doesn't matter which keys you use, so long as you have more than the key number of the chest.
59	%%* ''VideoGame/{{Faxanadu}}'':
60	%%** The game not only has this trope in effect, but the keys (with [[PlotCoupon one exception]]) have to be bought from a village locksmith. There are, however, five different types of keys. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
61	%%** ''Xanadu Next'' uses a similar system; Standard keys are actually magical skeleton keys carved from monster bones. Most of your keys are going to be bought from a store at your home base, but you need to sell him more bones that the shopkeep can carve keys out of, or he'll have to drive the price up with each one you buy. You can also carve your own keys when you find a carving knive. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
62	%%* ''VideoGame/FestersQuest'' is even worse about it than most games. Doors ''don't remain unlocked'' after spending a key on them, so you need to use up ''another key'' if you come back later. This is because keys are a RandomDrop. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
63	* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
64	** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'', you can only open certain locked doors if you have a "Magic Key" (which disappears after use) or a Thief in your party, who can pick the lock. This rarely comes up outside of Goldor's Mansion, though.
65	** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', the doors in Burmecia are opened with bells which shatter after being used for some reason. Since some of these doors lead to fairly important areas, such as the palace and the place people get married, one must imagine that somewhere a government contractor is raking in the gil making disposable bell keys.
66	* In the ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series, there are 2 kinds of keys: door keys and chest keys. Any door key can open any door, and any chest key can open any chest. If a particular game has lockpicks, they open both. ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'' has two others: bridge keys (guess) and master keys (open anything, and have five uses each).
67	* ''Flink'' has single-use magic keys for opening locked treasure chests. They are selected through a menu like other spells which work quite differently.
68	* In first ''VideoGame/FragileHearts'', the keys you collect in the castle will unlock any currently locked door, and then disappear from the inventory. One door is even bugged and wouldn't stay unlocked, and going back there can actually render the game UnintentionallyUnwinnable. On the flip side, the Throne Room does require a unique key (which will also disappear after being used.)
69	* ''{{VideoGame/Gauntlet}}'' has identical keys scattered throughout every level. Players can open doors or locked chests just by touching them if they have at least one key. The doors are particularly strange in that they can be extremely long and completely disappear the instant they are touched ''anywhere'' by a player who has a key.
70	* In ''VideoGame/GrimDawn'' there are five BonusDungeon zones that require a key every time you enter them. The same key will work for any of the five doors and is consumed on use, but extra copies can be crafted using rare components, each dropped by high-level enemies of each enemy faction.
71	* In ''VideoGame/GoldenAxe Warrior'', the player has to rely on generic single-use keys to open doors until the Thief's Key, which can open an unlimited number of doors, turns up late in the game.
72	%%* ''VideoGame/HansKloss'': There are lots of this kind of keys scattered around. Half of the challenge is figuring out (via TrialAndErrorGameplay) which doors to open at which time, to avoid getting stuck. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
73	* In ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'', any locking mechanism described as "simple" can be opened by any Simple Key item. However, all Simple Keys are described as being so poorly crafted that they break after just one use. There are only a few keys in the entire game.
74	%%* ''Ironsword: VideoGame/WizardsAndWarriors II'' had chests locked by these keys, but it was the only game in the series to use this trope. ''Wizards & Warriors'' had three differently colored keys that could be re-used for the whole level, and ''Wizards & Warriors III'' had a skeleton key that could unlock anything. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
75	* In ''VideoGame/IWannaLockpick'', which takes place in "an abstract world made of keys and doors", each key can only unlock one door, though most doors require multiple keys of the door's colour. Also, while a master key can bypass almost any door, it's also single-use. The game revolves around using your keys on the right doors in the right order so you don't get stuck.
76	* ''VideoGame/JaysJourney'' has antimatter keys in a couple of dungeons. Jay [[LampshadeHanging complains the first couple of times the keys disappear on him.]]
77	%%* The two 3D ''VideoGame/{{Klonoa}}'' games play this straight ("One key, one door") although it's the variation in which you can only reach one key at any time. The 2D puzzle games avert it, however: keys come in multiple shapes, and each one can open all of the matching doors in that level. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
78	* Weights in ''VideoGame/LaMulana'' are found everywhere and can only be used once. They can be placed on pedestals throughout the ruins to activate things. Things like doors, [[RagnarokProofing ancient mechanisms]], and when you [[NintendoHard least]] expect it, {{Death Trap}}s. The Ankh Jewels also qualify, as you don't need to use the jewel from the same area to activate that area's boss.
79	* The keys in ''VideoGame/LandsOfLore'' aren't interchangeable, but they are anti-matter. Also worth noting is one particular dungeon, the White Tower; while most keys in the game are noticeably unique in appearance, this area uses special "Mystic Keys". These keys are all shaped exactly alike and can only be told apart by their color, but since nothing in the Tower is color-coded, figuring out which key goes into which lock is a matter of trial and error.
80	* In ''VideoGame/{{Landstalker}}: The Treasures of King Nole'' does a mix. You carry mostly Interchangeable Antimatter Keys, except when unlocking dungeons. For example: you unlock the heavy stone door of dungeon #2 with an...idol? No, you don't slot it into an empty pedestal, you just "Use" the Idol.
81	* That ''VideoGame/LegacyOfTheWizard'' displays a meter for keys right next to the life, magic and gold meters should show how much this game relies on feeding keys into doors. Fortunately for Meyna, whose area contains long strings of locked doors, there's an item that lets her use magic instead of keys to open doors.
82	* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series is a prime user of this trope. In fact, the first two games have a magic key whose only power is that it ''doesn't'' disappear when you use it to unlock a door.
83	** The first game has keys that work in any dungeon (the equivalent of the key for your front door unlocking Fort Knox). This creates problems, where you can become trapped if you use some keys from one dungeon that you didn't fully complete, in another dungeon.
84	** [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI The first game]] has purchasable keys as a workaround, but [[VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink the second]] doesn't and thus will require the use of the Fairy spell to get through the keyholes. Eventually, they simply made keys only usable in the dungeon in which you acquire them. As they say in ''Zelda II'': "USE KEYS IN PALACES THEY ARE FOUND IN".
85	** There are some keys that are required to enter the Boss's chamber (usually simply called the 'boss key'), and in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'', there's the Big Key, which is reusable multiple times (within the same dungeon) to open any door with a very big keyhole (not limited to the boss room, though the boss room is always ''one'' of the things on the other side of the Big Key-needing door).
86	* In ''VideoGame/LittleBigAdventure'' games, keys are intended for doors located in the same area, and when you leave that area without using the key you found there, it'll disappear. However, all keys ''are'' identical, as demostrated in areas where there is more than one door to open -- getting one key will give you access to ''any'' of the doors you choose, but it vanishes after use, and you'll have to get more keys for other doors in the area.
87	* In ''VideoGame/LiveALive'', the final chapters's Dungeon of Keys has locked doors that need to be opened with Rusted Keys, which are randomly dropped by a specific enemy and crumble to dust when used.
88	* ''VideoGame/LostOdyssey'' features "gate pass" items you have to [[VideoGameStealing steal from enemies]] to deactivate some electric gates in one dungeon. All the passes fit all the gates, and are consumed in the process.
89	* In ''VideoGame/LuckBeALandlord'', Keys are destroyed after opening any Lockbox, Safe, or Treasure Chest, with Magic Keys tripling their coin value.
90	* In ''VideoGame/MaximoGhostsToGlory'', there are identical keys for both gates and chests. The sequel, ''[[VideoGame/MaximoVsArmyOfZin Army of Zin]]'', has separate gate keys and chest keys.
91	* ''VideoGame/{{MDK}}'' features locked doors that are unlocked by... throwing ''mini-nukes'' on them (that somehow don't pulverise anything other than the lock). The "keys" unreusability definitely makes sense in that case.
92	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' features a completely straight non-videogame example in the episode [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E25SchoolRazePart1 "School Raze - Part 1"]]. The Key of Unfettered Entrance is a magical item that can unlock any door, but it only works once and shatters immediately after. This serves the narrative purpose of allowing Twilight and her friends to get into Tartarus [[spoiler:and then get trapped when the door closes behind them]].
93	* ''VideoGame/TheNeverhood'': Each key has one and only one lock in which it can be used, but they vanish after use.
94	* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'': The module editor lets you make each door work however you want, with the keys being interchangeable or not as you desire. You can also set the "relockable", "requires key to unlock" (as opposed to being vulnerable to the Open Lock skill), and "consumes key when used" flags, although not all three at once.
95	* Doors in ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'' have a monster attached to them which can only be destroyed with holy arrows, creating an explosion which destroys the door.
96	* ''VideoGame/PAYDAY3'': QR Codes will unlock any QR reader on the map, but can only be used once. They can be acquired by scanning phones found throughout the map, and are shared between heisters.
97	* ''VideoGame/{{Parameters}}'': Enemies can drop keys upon being defeated. Each key can only be used once, but as long as its color matches the lock's (silver or gold), it'll work.
98	* In ''VideoGame/PixelDungeon'', keys are only interchangeable if they correspond to locked rooms on the same floor. A key from floor 3 won't unlock a locked door on floor 4, for instance. One Golden Key can open any Golden Chest on the same level.
99	* ''VideoGame/PockyAndRocky 2'' has locked chests and occasionally locked doors that can all be opened with identical keys. Keys can be found in baskets, dropped by enemies, or bought in stores, but if you have Little Ninja as your partner, you can use her magic to pick the locks and bypass the need for keys.
100	%%* The ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' games are guilty of this as well. In the first games, even if you have a key, it may not be enough to get to the treasure. Sometimes, you'll need a certain move or terrain ability as well. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
101	* ''VideoGame/PsyCard'': In ''Friend's Quest'', keys disappear when used, justified as them being old and poorly made, or just magically disappearing, for the gold keys.
102	* In ''Rock 'n' Roll'', a MadMarbleMaze game by Rainbow Arts, keys come in four colors, with each key canceling out one door of the same color.
103	* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4Remake'': The small keys that the merchant sells can be used for any locked treasures in the game, but a key only unlocks one treasure, after which the key disappears, and you need to buy another one.
104	* In ''Roleplay/RubyQuest'', keycard operated mechanisms have a tendency to eat the cards used for operating them. The key to the Dummy Room also gets "predictably stuck" in the lock after Ruby uses it.
105	* ''VideoGame/SecretAgent'' has colored doors (red, blue and green) which disappear when you walk into them with a matching key, which also disappears. On some levels it's possible to pick up a key when you've already got one of the same colour, which causes you to waste a key and inevitably makes the level unwinnable.
106	* ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'': In dungeons throughout the series, such as in ''VideoGame/ShantaeRiskysRevenge'' and ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndTheSevenSirens'', using a key once on a locked door destroys that key.
107	* ''[[VideoGame/{{Spore}} Spore Galactic Adventures]]'' allows the placement of coloured keys ([[ShoutOut suspiciously similar]] to the ones from ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'') and corresponding coloured [[ForceFieldDoor energy doors]] in the Adventure Editor. A red key will always open a red door, and disappear on use. The Adventure Editor does allow you to replace the default model with custom props made in-game, so you can replace the sci-fi looking default asset with a more medieval-looking key and prison door.
108	* In ''Franchise/SpyroTheDragon'', Spyro only ever needs one key at a time, located a sufficient distance away from the locked box to make things... "fun". ''VideoGame/SpyroAHerosTail'' has things called "Lock-Picks," which you had to buy so that your little dragonfly friend could fly into locks and pick them, but they looked more like keys than like actual lock-picks.
109	* Keys and locked doors appear in several ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' games, including ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'', ''[[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy Super Mario Galaxy 1]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2 2]]'', the ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' and ''VideoGame/WarioLand'' series, and ''VideoGame/MarioVsDonkeyKong''; and in all of them the keys can only be used once each. A post-release update for ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker'' allows the player to introduce keys and locked doors in their levels, where the trope is present as well.
110	* The Subspace Emissary mode from ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' has one-time keys that open doors. They respawn in their original locations if the key is lost or abandoned in the way, but they're gone forever after they're used.
111	* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', you can get locked crates from the {{Random Drop\|s}} System, which in turn can be opened by one-use Mann Co. Supply Crate Keys. The problem? You have to buy the keys. [[RevenueEnhancingDevices With real money]], or if you are cheap or have little money you can get them also by trading [[ItemCrafting metal]], [[TheHilarityOfHats hats]], event items (Halloween, etc.), or strange weapons. There are also special keys for Seasonal items/Promotional events which only open special crates, those keys turn into normal ones after the event ends.
112	* In ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'', any golden key can open any golden chest, but the key is destroyed upon use. On the other hand, one shadow key can open any number of shadow chests in the Underworld. The Temple Key is also destroyed upon use... but each world only contains ONE lock it could possibly be used on, and you can easily get duplicates of the key. Finally there are Biome Keys, which are specific to one chest which may not exist in every world, and for some reason cause '''every''' copy of the key in your world to be destroyed upon use.
113	* ''VideoGame/{{Tutankham}}'' has keys disappear when used, though the player can only carry one key at a time.
114	* In ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'', inside Orokin Derelicts you can find Orokin Vaults, which you can open only by crafting any of the four Dragon Key types and equipping them in your gear belt before embarking on the mission. If the vault lock matches to any of the keys you carry, the key disappears and you can loot the vault.
115	* ''VideoGame/WildARMs'' features "duplicators" which can duplicate into the specific key to fit any lock, once. Afterward the transformed key is no good for any other door, so is thrown away.
116	* In ''VideoGame/{{Wizorb}}'', having the key somehow lets you unlock a door simply by touching it with a seemingly unchanged orb you control. The key will disappear after that procedure as well.
117	%%* ''VideoGame/WonderBoyIIITheDragonsTrap'' is an egregious example, as the locks actually look different, but are all opened with the same keys. (The different locks indicate whether a door has to be unlocked just once or every time you open it.) %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
118	* In ''VideoGame/{{ZZT}}'', keys and doors come in seven colors, and any key of a given color unlocks any door of that color and then disappear forever. You also can only carry one key of each color at a time, which leads to situations where your way might be [[InsurmountableWaistHeightFence blocked by a key]] (which is the same size as the player, the doors, and everything else) that you cannot pick up until you find a door to use the key you already had on.
119	[[/folder]]
120
121	[[folder:Aversions, Subversions, and Other Deviant Uses]]
122	* ''VideoGame/UltimaOnline''.
123	** Since a key allows accessing a specific player house, it is useless for anything but one specific door. More keys can be made for the same door by copying the pattern from an existing key to a "blank key".
124	** ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}} VII: The Black Gate'', from which ''Ultima Online'' largely derived its style, also featured a unique key for every locked door or chest in the game.
125	** ''VideoGame/UltimaVIIPartII: Serpent Isle'' had even more keys. Thankfully its add-in pack ''Silver Seed'' introduced a keyring where all keys could go. The keyring could then be used directly on a lock and if would open if the key was on the ring. ''Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds'' had already introduced a keyring but in that game the keys still had to be tested individually.
126	* ''[[VideoGame/TheAddamsFamily Addams Family Values]]'' has several dozen unique keys to collect, a few of which don't even have a door to use them on.
127	* The ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'' games have door specific keys that are never used again. In ''VideoGame/LuigisMansionDarkMoon'', keys explicitly disintegrate when used. Early dev versions featured door locks that [[RuleOfFunny ATE the keys]]. In [[VideoGame/LuigisMansion3 the third game]], the keys instead get sucked into the keyhole when put in.
128	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' features several items used to grant access to various dungeons that do not disappear when used, even if they only need to be used once. It also includes many doors that are described to the player as "locked with the MYSTIC KEY" -- once the player obtains said key, they can access the doors.
129	* ''VideoGame/SlyCooper'' features a collection of keys that do not disappear when used. Keys can only be used in the general world zones in which they are collected, and specific plot items and doors are locked with a number of locks that determine how many keys Sly needs to collect within this zone in order to unlock the next part of the plot.
130	* Zig-zagged throughout the ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' games. The first two games have small keys that are used to unlock desk drawers and the like and they vanish upon use. There are also keys that can be used to unlock several doors and once all the doors associated with that key is unlocked, they key has no purpose and you can discard it if you want to.
131	* ''Franchise/SilentHill'' includes many, many doors that can never be opened at all. If the lock is jammed, it stays jammed ''forever''. In fact, this is such a staple of the Silent Hill series that ''VideoGame/SilentHillShatteredMemories'' has the ability to open any door as a ''selling point''.
132	%%* The webcomic ''Webcomic/KidRadd'' {{lampshaded}} this with Itty Bitty, a shopkeeper NPC, who had an unlimited amount of such keys, and used them several times to escape imprisonment. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
133	* ''VideoGame/LufiaAndTheFortressOfDoom'' and ''VideoGame/LufiaIIRiseOfTheSinistrals'' feature unique keys for every door; after they're used the doors stay open forever and the keys stay in your inventory.
134	* ''VideoGame/LunarTheSilverStar'' has the red chests that can only be unlocked by a specific item much later in the game... and it's not always worth it.
135	* In ''VideoGame/ArcanumOfSteamworksAndMagickObscura'', each key is can only be used on specific locks, and continue to exist once they have been used. Due to this, an accomplished thief (or brutal murderer) can collect upwards of 30-40 keys by the end of the game. (They take up a bit of room until you get a key ring, though...)
136	* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
137	** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', lockpicks break after a certain number of uses, and in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'', they break if you fail at the LockpickingMinigame. There are also Open Lock spells with varying magnitudes, but some (usually plot-important) doors require keys to open.
138	** ''Morrowind'' also has a quirk with this involving slave bracers. Normally, you need to find the key in the location with the slaves in order to unlock their bracers. (So, for example, the Addamasartus Slave Key will open the bracers of slaves within Addamasartus.) However, if you bring a slave from another location to a place for which you already have the key (using a Command spell, for example,) you can then unlock that slave's bracers with the key you already have. This is useful for freeing slaves whose bracers do not have a key and normally would not be able to be freed.
139	** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' also has the breaking lockpicks, and one could go through a multitude of lockpicks on one lock, depending on the lock difficulty. However, once you get your lockpicking high enough and get the required perk, or you aquire the SkeletonKey, no longer will you have to worry about breaking lockpicks, especially on Master level locks.
140	* All ''VideoGame/CommanderKeen'' games (except ''Keen Dreams'', which has only one type of key) have several colours of keycards or keygems that open a door of the same colour. In case of the gems, they don't actually disappear, they just become stuck to the pedestals you place them on.
141	* The skeleton keys of ''VideoGame/{{Nethack}}'' don't disappear on use, which makes them all the more useful; they work on every door and box in the game. The variant ''Slash'EM'' occasionally has these keys break in the lock, but eventually you can find up to three unbreakable artifact keys, each one of which unlocks almost everything in your way. The few things they can't unlock... well, that's why there's three of them.
142	%%* The NES game ''Castlequest'' had their keys and doors color-coded. Figuring out how best to spend your keys was part of the challenge. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
143	* A few dungeons in the ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' games (such as the final dungeon in the original and the fifth dungeon in ''The Thousand-Year-Door'') use Interchangeable Antimatter Keys, but in others, you get specific keys which only work in certain places, and some of which may stay in your inventory after use. The "a specific key will only work here" places are generally in the overworld, but many dungeons also have [[StockVideoGamePuzzle sequence puzzles]] solved by using specific keys in certain places.
144	* ''VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil'' has a grand total of four keys in the game. Two of them, the Triangle and Square Keys, are used multiple times across multiple dungeons and side-quests. The third is a duplicate Triangle Key which is needed for one [[StockVideoGamePuzzle dual switch puzzle]]; it's a bit pointless after that, but can still be used to open doors. The fourth, the Star Key, ''does'' become useless after one sidequest, but never vanishes.
145	* In ''VideoGame/ChipsChallenge'' there are four key colours. Red, yellow and blue keys vanish when used, but green ones don't. This has the effect of making certain puzzles UnwinnableByDesign if the player opens certain locks at the wrong time (for example, opening the doors to the chip door or the goal in Elementary before getting all the chips behind the other doors).
146	* In ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'', there are a few different keys, each used in a specific place, for example Boris's, Sneaky Pete's and Jarlsberg's Keys open their Shrines in the Big Mountains. In the Naughty Sorceress Quest, the keys disappear when you use them to open the door.
147	** Skeleton Keys [[MadeFromRealGirlScouts (made from skeleton bones and teeth)]] unlock any door in the Daily Dungeon, but frequently "break off in the lock" and disappear. A single VIP Key can unlock the VIP lounge of any clan; [[DiscussedTrope according to the game, they all have identical locks]]. For some reason.
148	** This is played straight with numerous items that are not technically keys, such as dolphin whistles. They invariably get "knocked out of your hand" and cease to exist after a single use. Can't you just tie the whistle to your wrist or something?
149	* The ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' series portrays a more realistic key use:
150	** A key or keycard will only work with specific doors, and you can keep the keys afterwards. You can even find keycards which have no use in game, or find keys well before (or after) you find the door they're used on. Oddly, you can sell some keycards afterwards.
151	** In ''Fallout 3'' and ''Fallout New Vegas'' turns the previous key systems (who were inventory items you needed to use) into items that disappear into a "keyring" and can't be dropped but also won't disappear. The games also give you lockpicking tools, comprising of bobby pins (that can break in a failed lockpicking attempt) and a screwdriver. They can open nearly any lock except for the very rare unpickable ones (that are usually there for RailRoading purposes), meaning the same tools that can open an ammo box can also open a sturdy safe, or even the high tech security door of a bunker!
152	** ''Fallout 4'' has similar lock mechanics to the previous two games. The locks have specific levels, and require you to level up and apply perk points to the Locksmith perk to access the more difficult locks. Maxing out Locksmith will make your bobby pins unbreakable. Terminal-locked security doors work on a similar principle, with the Hacker perk being required to unlock higher-level terminals; maxing out the perk keeps you from being locked out (where you need to wait a certain interval before trying to hack it again). There are still certain locks and terminals that require specific keys and passwords, though, due to the requirements of certain quests, though once you've acquired them, you keep them.
153	* Many dungeons in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' have doors that require a specific key to open, and that key, once obtained, remains with the player forever unless discarded. Certain "keys" don't actually open a door but instead act as {{Plot Coupon}}s that unlock harder difficulty modes. Still other dungeons have keys that only exist within that dungeon and must be obtained ''every time'' the player enters; these are consumed once used or if the player leaves. Many, many quests involve obtaining keys that can only be used for that quest and are consumed as they are used; leftover keys also spontaneously vanish once you complete the quest. There are randomly scattered chests and lockboxes throughout the game; these can be opened by a Rogue with lockpicks, Engineers with blasting charges, or Blacksmiths with skeleton keys. Those same methods may ''also'' be used on many--but not all--doors (with no particular explanation for the difference), and only the Rogue's is reusable as it doesn't involve a consumable item. Ironically, the cost of crafting a blasting charge or skeleton key is frequently greater than the value of the items you obtain from using them.
154	* In ''VideoGame/{{Wizardry}} VII'' all keys self-destruct (some has several uses, some one) upon unlocking, but there's mix of "unique" and several "common" keys (latter can even appear in [[RandomDrop random loot]]).
155	* ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIV: Shadows of Darkness'' sees TheHero, Prince of Shapeir hold on to every key he finds because they only open specific doors and locks. There are only four keys you can get anyway (your inn room key, the key to Dr. Cranium's lab, [[spoiler: the crypt key]], and the key to the adventurer's guild).
156	* In ''Videogame/EarthBound1994'', after a specific key is found to be too bent to use, the person who gave you it exchanges it for the "Machine that Opens Doors, especially when you have a slightly bad key". This opens the lock in question, as well as another plot-required lock shortly afterwards, and then has no further use ever again. Since it sounds incredibly useful, many first-time players likely keep it in their (very limited) inventory for the whole game.
157	* Keys in ''VideoGame/{{Geneforge}}'' are rare and open specific doors, but "living tools" (lockpicks) vanish when used. They're OrganicTechnology, and they die after being used.
158	* ''Videogame/ManiacMansion'' handles its keys very realistically, although this is helped by the limited number of doors and locks in the game. All the locks are different and require different keys, although there are locks keyed alike (such as the coin boxes in the arcade room), all of the opened locks can be re-locked and all of the keys stay in your inventory (which can be kind of a pain, given that there are three different inventories for three different kids).
159	* ''Videogame/JaggedAlliance'' games have plenty of keys to be found. The original ''Jagged Alliance 2'' campaign has over 100 different sets of keys to be found, and each unlocks one or more doors, so they never disappear and it can get confusing. Some keys have duplicates, and some are useless. However, it is impossible to lock a door once it's been unlocked, and enemies are able to pass through locked (or trapped) doors without any key, effort, or lock-picking equipment. Another interesting aspect is that the character opening the door needs to be carrying the key (no [[BagOfSharing shared inventory]]), which can be very frustrating during combat.
160	* ''Videogame/RuneScape'':
161	** The regular keys are an aversion, as nearly every door has a unique key associated, and most of them are infinitely reusable. Fortunately, there's also a keyring item which lets you store certain important keys so you don't have to waste nearly as much bank space as you might think. At the same time, it is present and accounted for in a lot of cases in the game as well.
162	** There are several types of keys that open up treasure chests instead of doors. These include Muddy Keys, Crystal Keys, Crystal Triskelions, Sinister Keys, Columbarium Keys, Shiny Columbarium Keys, several kinds of H.A.M. Keys, and several kinds of Shade Keys. These keys open up treasure chests but are destroyed when you use them, but you can get these keys multiple times and even have several of them at the same time, and no matter how many times you use them the chests that they open will always have treasure in them. Some of these keys only open one chest while others have multiple chests that they can open, although only for Crystal Keys does which chest you open affect what loot it may give you.
163	** There also are a few bosses in the game that require you spend a key each time you attempt to fight them. For example, to fight The Magister you have to spend a Key to the Crossing each fight.
164	** The game also averts this in Dungeoneering. Although the floors of Daemonhiem are randomly generated and have locked doors and keys scattered though them, each key will only unlock the one door on the floor that matches the key's color and shape.
165	* In ''VideoGame/{{Braid}}'', the keys are interchangeable and single use... but you have time traveling powers. Some puzzles require a specific key be used on a specific door even though they appear to be interchangeable, [[spoiler:In World 3, time moves backwards as you walk - try to unlock the wrong door and time reverses it as you walk through, locking the door again... but your key stays disappeared]], while others need you to open multiple doors with a single antimatter key.
166	* In ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'', each level has up to four different color-coded keys or keycards to find, each with its associated door(s), and they all vanish once you complete the level. Presumably your character knows that they were only usable in that area and discards them to make space.
167	* ''Videogame/TheTowerOfDruaga'' requires a potion instead of a key to open locked chests.
168	* VideoGame/{{Tibia}} has each key assigned to a specific door and not only that, the keys were reusable as well. You could freely lock doors you've just unlocked. In some cases, a key won't even be necessary to access an area because some other player may have left the door unlocked. It'll be risky to enter, though, as some other player may decide to lock you in with your only hope of escape being relying on the kindness of others, [[ContinuingIsPainful death]], or waiting until someone else leaves the door unlocked.
169	* In ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaI Vampire Killer]]'', each small key was only good for opening any one treasure chest, though you could sometimes uncover or purchase a lock pick that could open three treasure chests. You could only carry one of either at a time. You needed a different kind of key to open exit gates, but there was never a choice between those.
170	%%* Mocked in ''Webcomic/NerfNow'' [[http://www.nerfnow.com/comic/705 here.]] %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
171	%%* Mocked in a ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' Photoplasty: [[http://www.cracked.com/photoplasty_273_26-ads-products-that-must-exist-in-video-games_p26/#22 Ads for Products That Must Exist in Video Games.]] %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
172	* In ''VideoGame/EldenRing'', the stonesword keys are magical stone keys that can be placed in certain statues throughout the world. Placing a key will open the adjacent magical barrier, but will also use up the key.
173	* In ''VideoGame/DivineDivinity'', each key is unique, all locked doors require a specific one, making lock-picking one of the most essential skills.
174	* In ''VideoGame/{{Dofus}}'', most keys can only be used once to enter dungeons, but that's because the person standing at the entrance to the dungeon explicitly takes the key from you. (One castle is an exception, where you have to find three keys, but they're quest items and you never lose them) There's also [[SkeletonKey key rings which can get you into any dungeon in the game and are never lost]], but which for some reason take a full week to "recharge" before you can use them on that particular dungeon again.
175	* ''VideoGame/{{Outcast}}'' has an in-game explanation for one-use keys. Lockable doors in the setting are rare, so a small farming village only really has need for one locked storage. With a tyrant in charge, the soldiers have taken over the use of any such spaces for their own needs. Meanwhile, there is a popular resistance movement and one person who crafts keys mentions he makes them deliberately brittle so they break with one use and the soldiers will lock themselves out from their own supplies. The protagonist reacts with appropriate frustration upon hearing this.
176	* Keys in ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}'' act like actual keys: many times, a key will open multiple locks, and it can be reused as many times as you like. In fact, you can ''re-lock'' the door by using that key on it again. Many guards will also carry copies of the basic keys, which makes sense given their job. However, a true SkeletonKey is rare: often, particularly valuable stuff is behind a unique lock that requires a unique key. And even if you don't have the key, many locks can be picked... although there are some that cannot, and require the key to continue.
177	* Subverted in ''VideoGame/MysticTowers''. Keys will disappear after being used, but they aren't interchangeable, which makes them into a prominent gameplay element. Every room requires a key to unlock its door first, and often, they are not even on the same floor, requiring lots of back-and-forth traversing around the place. Finally, the tower door itself locks behind you and you'll need a large red key to leave.
178	* The ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series has keycards. Later games make them work automatically whenever you walk near the door they unlock without even needing to be equipped. Not so with the games preceding ''Solid'', and when you start having around eight separate keycards to juggle through while simultaneously denying you access to your standard inventory...[[note]]One memorable instance in the NES game requires you to remove your gas mask inside a gas-filled chamber just to equip a keycard and exit.[[/note]]
179	* The ''VideoGame/AnotherCode'' games avert this, due to finding the right key for each lock being a common task for any non-puzzle-locked door. The keys are generally removed from your inventory, but mostly because Ashley has no reason to relock the doors. The most notable time a key is used on more than one door is a puzzle in the first game that requires how you use two keys to open it.
180	* As they take place in a hotel and apartment complex respectively, it's no surprise that ''VisualNovel/HotelDuskRoom215'' and ''VisualNovel/LastWindow'' requires gathering specific keys to open the right doors. The keys also remain in your inventory after being used, like every other inventory item that isn't automatically used up.
181	* ''VideoGame/BlakeStone'' averts this and combines it with BagOfSpilling. On each level, various keycards will unlock doors. As you advance through the game, you find that the keycards from one level don't work on the others; as an AntiFrustrationFeature, the game does save which keycards you have on each level in case you decide to backtrack and chase OneHundredPercentCompletion.
182	* In ''VideoGame/RoloToTheRescue'', having one key allows Rolo to unlock every cage in its level.
183	* Every lock in ''{{VideoGame/Fairune}}'' has a specific, distinct key consumed on use.
184	* Subverted in ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'' when Dennis and Charlie are attempting to open a door at a competing bar and restaurant. Upon discovering it is locked, Charlie attempts to use his apartment key with the reasoning that it works on his apartment door, Dennis responds angrily ''"We're not at your apartment shithead!"''. As expected, the key does not work.
185	* Over the course of ''VideoGame/CaveStory'' you find multiple keys, each of which opens one specific lock and stays in your inventory long after fulfilling its purpose.
186	* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' invariably has specific keys that open a few specific doors: the Soldier Key in ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'', for example, opens a few doors located around the Forest of Fallen Giants. Keys stick around indefinitely when obtained. ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsI'' does have the Master Key as one of the starting gift options, but that's just a key that can be used on a lot of locks; it doesn't work on all of them, and you can use it on as many doors as will respond to it.
187	* ''[[VideoGame/PajamaSam Pajama Sam 2: Thunder and Lightning aren't so Frightening]]'' parodies this to an extent as right in the beginning of the game, to get into the main control room of the World Wide Weather facility to progress through the game[[note]](even though Sam will trip on the very BigRedButton to kickstart its events)[[/note]], you need a card key, which is sitting right near its entrance. When Sam goes to swipe it through the slot, it turns into a mouth and ''eats up'' the key (alongside [[FreezeFrameBonus the person in it looking rather horrified for just a second]]) before opening up the door. He also hopes that the person didn't need that card key anymore.
188	--> "Uh oh... [[CaptainObvious I think it ate the card.]] I hope it wasn't too important..."
189	* ''VideoGame/WeirdAndUnfortunateThingsAreHappening'': Fool's Keys, whose description is clear about this:
190	--> Can open a secret chest, but will turn to dust afterwards.
191	* In ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRogue'', keys are only usable in whatever building they were found in, and can only unlock one door in said building before disappearing. This is usually not a problem, since most buildings only have one locked door at most. However, a prison facility will have locked doors for each individual prison cell, and the key can only be used to unlock one of the cells before it becomes unusable, so you're generally better off just using the prison's computer to unlock the doors remotely.
192	[[/folder]]

Context Main / InterchangeableAntimatterKeys